Three's company

This week while my sister Amber and her husband Robbie took a much needed short trip to Bush Garden's we kept their almost 2 year old, Owen for 3 days. It was quite an adventure. Since Gabe is only about 5 months older they had a blast together. When Gabe was awake and Owen was not he would want to go in and get him up to play with. For me however it was an exercise in patience and endurance. I knew there was a reason the Lord has not blessed me with twins yet. Owen has a very happy disposition but is a willful little bug and comes with more energy than the energizer bunny. Mostly though I think I just wasn't used to having 3 little boys all at once for any great length of time. My mom helped out, and Zach helped after work but it sort of opened my eyes up to what I can expect after our third little blessing comes (and no, that is not an announcement. There is no bun in this oven yet.) Toothpaste tubes squished out, shared colds/runny noses, lots of squealing, three sets of diapers and clothes to change,and mud puddles that met their match with Gabe and Owen together. It was fun to have him here but I have a new respect for women with twins. Oh the blessings of motherhood/aunthood.

Cute Things they do and Say

I've been keeping a little journal for each of the boys of developments, funny things they do or say, and anything that I'd like to remember or I'd think they would enjoy reading about themselves when they are older. Here are some of the ones I've written:



I like to call David Hyrum my 'baby bear' not only because he's the youngest but because when trying to communicate more often than not he growls. Its a cute growl and sometimes you can get him to go back and forth with you doing it. Zach can sing tenor, David can sing bass, and I'm just hoping Gabe can sing.

When David Hyrum was born the first thing Gabe (21 months) told me in the hospital when I let him meet his baby brother was "Mommy, put him back in the crib". I guess he was done looking at that toy.

Gabe's favorite song right now is "Old McDonald". Sometimes he'll sit up at the piano and play and sing it (in a slightly monotone voice) to himself. He requests that we sing it at every family home evening. He's not restrained by the conventional animals that belong on a farm though so we have dinosaurs, fish, tigers, crocodiles and many other assorted species that visit our song.

About a month after Gabe had joined nursery we asked him who had been there that day. He replied "Jesus". Zach, replied "Oh, thats where he must have gone, because he wasn't in Elder's Quorum today".

As mentioned in another post, David is my contented little baby and if he's not hungry will stay in his crib for quite a while without crying. To keep himself occupied however he uses the mattress as a thumping board and will kick it for repeatedly. I let him do that for an hour once (between 4am and 5am) thinking he would eventually either fall asleep or cry. He never did so I eventually had pity on him and went to get him. I was rewarded by a big smile, a laugh, and a final excited thump of the mattress.

Gabe is very possessive of his blue sports blankie and one time I used it to cover David. Gabe promptly came over and informed me that David didn't like the blankie, that he liked another one better and made the trade.

Before Gabe turned 2 he was sitting on my lap and he said "Mommy you have 'owies' on your legs"- I hadn't shaved in a while and he was right- I did have "owies" on my legs. He'll also tell me something is "too lame" if he doesn't like it. "I don't want to read that book, its too lame mommy".

I'm not exactly where Gabe gets all his phrases from, but once I asked him if he would like me to change his diaper and he replied "no thank you my dear". I'm pretty sure I changed it anyway.

More to come on this topic I'm sure.

Trip to Boston.

Recently Zach, Gabe, David Hyrum and I took a summer trip up to see his family in Boston. It was great fun and always relaxing. Its always wonderful to see mom and dad, the siblings and the nieces and nephews. One or two years makes a big difference when you see kids again. This was the first time they had met David Hyrum and the first time we got to meet the Schenewarks youngest boy- Miller. Enjoy the pictures.

Night and Day

Its fun to see how my two boys are so different. They look like brothers with the same gray blue eyes, the same dirty blond hair, the same tall lender build but their personalities are so opposite, even at this young age. Gabe has been the my bright star but demanding from day one. An obstinate 5 days late, I chose to be induced and then after 11 hours the doctor got the forcepts and decided to help this child enter the world. (I remember still not feeling like my old self 3 months after labor) After brining home our bundle of joy I didn't sleep for more than 1/2 an hour that first night and then not more than a few hours the rest of the week. It seemed like he was constantly awake and needing attention. A little motion junkie, he wanted to be bounced, walked, held and moved around. After only a month and a half he could not sit still and needed to bounce or wiggle all the time. He wanted to see the world, all before he was one. Sleep was a chore for this child, waking up constantly at night, and we fought this battle till he was at least 10 months. It was every two hours for a while. He was however, highly motivated to roll over, sit up, crawl, use baby signs, talk, and walk fairly young too. He is a very quick learner and is always saying funny things but needs constant activity. He was speaking in sentences by 19 months so at least it was not a big challenge to communicate with him. Being the main source of learning and entertainment for my little star has been a blessing as well well as a challenge.

In contrast, David Hyrum has been my easy going baby. He is my angel. He came a blessed two weeks early and as far as labors go, his wasn't too bad- 4 1/2 hours with no complications and not that much pushing. He still wakes up once in a while at night but its only to eat for 15 minutes and then just fall back asleep. I get more sleep now with two children than I did with just one baby. David Hyrum is happy and content just to be with you and sit on your lap. He's five months old and has recently learned to sit up pretty well. He still doesn't roll over however. Sometimes I forget he's in the room. I can take a whole shower and not hear a peep out of him while he plays with a toy. I take him to piano lessons with me and usually there's no problem. When David drifts off to sleep he often smiles and I wonder if he is still seeing angels. Part of the difference may be that as the second child there is more to see with a busy older sibling around. We are hopefully a more experienced parents too, but I know these my boys came down from heaven with personalities all their own. What a joy it is to be a mom.

Piano Students

I teach 6 beginning students piano on a weekly basis. I really enjoy all of my students in different ways. As anyone with children knows, each child is different and fun to be with because of their unique personality. I have one student in particular that makes me laugh. She just turned 8 but likes to look her best and so is some what resistant to trimming her nails. She often conveniently forgets or lets me know that she trimmed them, but they just grew back. She does it in such a cute way though its hard to be upset at her. The other day I gave her mom a pair of low healed shoes that didn't fit me and her mom exclaimed that they would be cute with jeans. The 8 year old daughter said "What, you told me I couldn't wear high heals with jeans!" where her mom said that was different she was 8. It made me laugh. They both looked at me like I was the deciding factor in the argument and I said that it wasn't up to me, but I tended to side with her mom. I look forward to when my children are school aged.

The Good Things of the Earth

Doctrine and Covenants 59:17-20

17Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;
18 Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;
19 Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.
20 And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion

For some time now I've been a grumbler about the heat down South. Summer has traditionally been my least favorite season. A triple digit temperature reading is plenty of reason to stay indoors and be grumpy. But this year, I'm beginning to change my mind. This is due in no small part to the milder summer temperatures we have enjoyed and the rain that has blessed our area and my garden. Alas we sadly had to move at the climax of tomato picking season, but we enjoyed other produce and will be back for the tomatoes. Owing the majority of the garden success to Heavenly Father's great designing, there is a great measure of satisfaction in seeing a tiny seed you plant in a tray back in March turn into a beautiful tomato plant in July.
In addition to my first official garden, this has been a year of berries. Since the drought has let up we have gone strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry picking. The strawberry and blueberry picking were dates Zach and I escaped to. The last of these three, blackberry picking, involved dangerous adventures through a forest overwhelmed with insects and bushes laden with thorns. Gabe joined me on one such blackberry picking romp and he picked probably two berries, ate ten, and received about twenty mosquito bites (despite the hat, pants, long sleeves and bug spray I put on him). He was a trooper though and never complained. I spoted him the other cups or so we needed in the kitchen. The blackberries eventually turned into jam, the strawberries into smoothies, the tomatoes into pasta and salsa, and the blueberries a delicious topping for cereal in the mornings. While I still don't care for the heat and much rather see snow flakes than sprinklers, I'm counting my blessings this summer as we enjoy the good things of the earth.